Falling in love with the 50mm focal length

It’s the focal length I learned on, and it’s like that because it’s the most developed lens of all time.

You can shoot portraits with it. You can shoot landscapes or an interior or two.

So it’s versatile. The one I have isn’t the top of the line model. But it’s decent glass. Coupled with a Canon 5D Mark III, it’s probably a little better than it was with my Mark II.

I stayed away from it for a long time, because shooting it wide open at f1.4 was somewhat impossible. Focus always missed and I’m the kind of guy that wants my focus point sharp. Super sharp. That’s my thing.

But if I shoot at f2.0, I can nail my focus and still get sweet-ass bokeh that we all love.

I hate picking up an Anthropologie catalog and seeing the images soft, but the reason they are used is because they are pretty. But if it’s out of focus, any old fucker could have taken that photo, right? And, yes, Anthropologie is the worst about hiring crap photographers that are somehow passed off as good because their product is beautiful and they’re so in love with it that they let anything pass as good.

While I have gear envy for the $1600 version of the lens, the $400 version fits my needs fine for now. I’m seriously considering buying up all the prime USM lenses to throw in my bag and toss all of my zoom lenses. Prime lenses are made for their focal length and that’s it.